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The Logistics Commandos: What the Ozark Free Republics can&039;t , black ht theft into a science Oftentiistics Coer pension Former Wolves and Cats often make the best LCs-they know the No Kurian Zones and usually have a network of contacts
In the field, the Logistics Commandos are wild cards, the last reserve of every corabbing everything froence and truck batteries to dropped weapons, always sorting, always prioritizing On a retreat, they decide what can be saved and what -service veterans with coht fronals
Of course they can be difficult They have an old soldier&039;s nose for food and comfort, and the other forces of Southern Coistics Corab all the best beds and let only their scraps of their ample tables and secondrate luxuries reach the rawer hands and newer heels at the front
"These are the boats?" La that floats," Valentine said He and Ediyak were taking the colonel on a tour of Evansville&039;s waterfront with the commander of Evansville&039;s River Guard, an ex-river patroller named Jackson
Jackson was a very what you see is what you get fellow He had no office, only a fast, heavy boat with twin uns set up on aHe took them on a waterborne tour of the three ed to Evansville The locals hadpeople across the river or east-west travel between a southward loop known as the "west hill" and the heart of the old city to the east Like est vessel was a derelict casino barge, hollowed of all but the ceiling glitz, now used for sheltering livestock-s-traded to the river traffic
They had a few barges, coal and corn vessels for the e reserve One was even rigged to hold freshwater A single decrepit tugboat was still in service for pushing theine and the part-tile barge to the Mississippi, let alone up it There was also a s It could, Valentine supposed, be pressed into duty as a barge pusher, but it would need soe train
There were plenty ofto Jackson Most had fled the Kurian Zone once Evansville beca theht call for an old-fashioned press-gang Valentine didn&039;t like the idea, but it unned his engines and weaved around a sunken wreck of a tug, sending his passengers lurching into each other The wreck was rather picturesque, if you liked rotting wood and rusty metal Waterfowl nests covered the wheelhouse roof In the slack water next to it, the Evansville River Guard&039;s other battle-ready boat sat, holding on to the wrecked tug with a boat hook, ready to dash out downriver
A tiny broater navy was being put together by the city, es for enemies Evansville&039;s leaders decided their best chance for survival was to allow river traffic up and down the Ohio, provided it wasn&039;t military supplies or fodder for the Reapers Corn and coal and dry goods could pass after being checked
The Kurians were putting extra troops on the "peace e deserters
Valentine wasn&039;t a fan of "hostile neutrality" or whatever the Evansville town fathers were calling their attitude about river traffic these days, but Southern Co civilians how to run their affairs unless bullets were flying
"Men aren&039;t the problem," Jackson said, when they asked hiet to the Mississippi junction For now, grander plans weren&039;t being discussed, even with soet me the boats, I could fill them with hands"
"Can you build them?" Lambert asked
"Marine h and reliable What we have is cannibalized, fifty-year-old gear for the most part We have plenty of people in Evansville who can steer a boat, read the river, fix an engine The weapons and combat stuff, on the other hand-"
"Well, we have a lot of hting is a little different than on land," Jackson said "It starts and finishes very quick You needyour pardon ladies-fast and Iyou know you&039;re swi in an oil slick"
Lambert sat with the in the quiet after their day on the river Her bedroom connected with it It had a nice view to the north
Duvalier and Frat had joined the about the Kurian River Patrol on the Tennessee, who had the nearest broater combat craft
Lambert started off: "Okay, to sum up, creill be difficult but doable It&039;s motors and hulls that are the problem We can&039;t build boats, at least not in time, and we can&039;t buy them and Southern Command, when I asked, said that all forces were allocated"
"Then we&039;ll have to steal them," Valentine said
Duvalier and Frat&039;s Wolves knew the ground along the Tennessee best Ediyak had already assembled their observations into a concise report
"There&039;s a cute little rest stop on the river right off the Cadiz inlet," Duvalier said
"I think it used to be a training base, before theyto this week-old Wolf report, there&039;s a couple of dry-dock ships, a machine tool workshop, a little dispensary still in operation Respite Point, they call it now There&039;s a couple of bars and a brothel in the old base Very popular with the River Patrol Not big enough for a Kurian and plenty of fun for the crehile their boats are out of the water being refitted"
"Hulls, engines, weaponry, that sort of thing?" Valentine asked
"You bet," Frat said
"Garrison?"
"Platoon strength, not even," Frat said "Plus whatever of the River Patrol is in camp The locals are very friendly to the River Patrol and would give warning of a large force"
"But a small team could make it"
"Maybe, sir Doubt if they could hold it for long, though Respite Point is well guarded," Frat said "Upriver, near the Tennessee border, there&039;s a big River Patrol base Even if ere able to surprise theet many boats, as they&039;d screa Then, even nearer downriver, there&039;s a big gun fort supporting Cadiz on the other side Lots of hted on the river, and three booms you have to weave around The cables to pull theht into the fort"
"Still," Valentine said "Might be worth a closer look I wonder if the joyhouse lets in Kentucky men, or if they&039;re river rat only"
Valentine noticed a ring of expectant faces "What, you don&039;t know?" La at me? Am I supposed to be an expert on brothels?"
"You keep finding your way into theht have patronized it Just once I&039;d like to hear that you met this contact or that one at a dentist&039;s, or a s from a brothel, beat and bloody"
"Still, it&039;s a possible excuse to bring a s wrenches from toolboxes could probably take that place"
"There&039;s a flaw in your plan, Val," Lambert said "I&039;ve looked at that sauarded But even if we seize soet them downriver The River Patrol has a fort at Gilbertsville-a fort they&039;ve reinforced, lately, by the way, to try and cut off the Western Kentucky trails There&039;s a boo the Tennessee at the old interstate pylons A double booate as a matter of fact Plus wire to stop hotshots in speedboats fro any fancy jumps
"It would take the whole Army of Kentucky to take that fort," Launs to support, and I&039;h shells left to wreck the boom or rubble the fort"
"Do we have a sketch of the place?" Valentine asked
"Pretty good one," Frat said
"Put some coffee on," Valentine said "Let&039;s have a look"
Getting into the River Patrol base had been sih It wasn&039;t really a base There were two lookout points and fencing builtpatrol wandered the fence
After spotting the dog, Valentine pulled Gamecock and his six Bears back another hundred yards
He exhibited ID and a broken, chain-free bicycle, clairy co south fro for a hot meal and somewhere out of the woods to sleep And hopefully a new chain for his bike
"Don&039;t get your hopes up," the corporal patting him down said
They found no weapons They let hihts in all his pouches and feeling around They even opened the battery shaft on his flashlight and inspected the cells within
"You&039;re under River Patrol jurisdiction on base," he warned Valentine "Cause any trouble, try to steal, and we&039;ll weigh you doith scrap and sink you in the Tennessee ave a fortuitous growl
The serious part of the security was at the dock itself, where a pair of barges were tied up next to a long dock branching out like plant roots into the river from some broken concrete steps down to the Tennessee Above the concrete steps was a nest of fencing and barbed wire, with alert-looking RPs on anchor watch at their riverine weapons A fewto a sentry A squat ehest point of the bank with a two-barrelled antiaircraft cannon had a co view of all Odd that there wasn&039;t soreat position to cover the river
Have to do soasoline and followed it to a sort of wharf a little way downstreaes he heard a , with the occasional rustle of chains being shifted
The spring flow of the Tennessee filled the riverbed bank to bank, covering the usual washup of garbage and driftwood
Lovely night Valentine felt oddly relaxed, now that he was finally here He had a bit of a headache froer, but it sharpened his already tuned-up senses
Presumably, if they were attacked, the River Patrol could fire up their engines and escape But the craft could throw a treet" in the for to take the docks would pay a heavy price
Valentine wandered through the corpse of the older, larger base Everything of value had obviously been ine blocks remained, well chewed by rust, and the black-rimmed doorways s to think about
Typical Kurian disorganization A partially shut-down base, but still functioning as a service point for river sailors co patrols Too s for a couple of locals to slit any throats Up the estuary in Cadiz, a ruin of a toith so, trading, repairing, laundering-in a way it wasn&039;t that different froates Men off duty liked short travel times to their services, rest, and recreation
He evaluated the anchor watches as he walked his bike in At least two men in each armed river patrol craft A fewes of technical and support staff Maybe sixty unifor the froht size to support a decent bar, eatery, and brothel, as long as the noet too sick of the taste of the old grease in the fryers
THE INLET the sign read Sort of It was illuhts, one of which had been stolen-unfortunately the center, so Valentine played with the idea that it was "To let" or perhaps named "The Toilet"
The bar was half built up on pylons, set into the side of the hill sloping down to the river, about the size of a ranch houarded storage beneath A cross between a porch and a patio was eht
Valentine parked his bicycle Despite its nonfunctional condition, he chained it to an old water ht of steps, tried the door It was locked
He rapped on the door
After a moment, a scratchy woman&039;s voice shouted, "Yeah?"
"You open?" Valentine called
"This is a private club You know the password?"
"I&039;ry, thirsty, and lonely"
The door opened A squat woht be a New Universal Church inforer of too much fried food, sh atop her head, not reallyup for her four-feet-eleven "That ain&039;t the password, but I&039;ve got a soft spot for anyone that broke-dick"
"Thanks I&039;m Rice"
"My name&039;s Dirty Nel This is my establishood time, at least until I have most of your lanced inside Bright red shag carpet, gleaaws pounded themselves into his eyeballs
"Great," he said, entering
The interior was a long, low-ceilinged, shaggy red bar, dihts A bar with a kitchen behind coh the usual orderof stained stainless The nets see, anyone over six three would have to watch hiiant whale that had sed the Pequod with a strip club chaser
Meaty, tired-looking blondes arranged their lips into i fro from behind the kitchen door, he&039;d better keep to liquids
"Bottle of beer?" he told the girl behind the bar She was dressed like the working girls, only her choice of animal print varied Perhaps she filled in if they beca, brown eyes," she said, showing a nice set of ere probably false teeth
"Want to bump that up?" Nel asked "Kentucky bourbon Only two dollars extra, Nashville, or three bucks Ordnance"
"I&039;ve got Control bucks," Valentine said
"Then it&039;s one lonely dollar, my friend," Nel said "Control&039;s scrip is really worth so"
Valentine tapped the bar and the bartender poured hi from a Maker&039;s Mark bottle It tasted like nitric acid
He wondered what The Inlet had been, for coe conveniently attached The River Patrol was famous for its accommodations for boat captains and their lieutenants-probably to keep the lower ranks serving in hopes of promotion to an officer&039;s splendor, and to prevent the officers the their craft to a much less luxurious lifestyle up an enemy river
The only custo cards, separated by a hedge of a his Bulletin Valentine wondered if he was sending away for any o upstairs?" one of the blondes asked She had a painted-on dimple, a practice Valentine never understood
"My thought precisely," Valentine said
"What do you have inyou had a very nicely shaped mouth"
"Thirty, if it&039;s Control," Randy said
Valentine showed the cash
"Pay Nel," she said, flashing a hand signal to the madam
Valentine handed over the captured bills and took her callused hand-did Nel put all her girls to scrubbing the floors every ?-and led her up the world&039;s shortest staircase
"Watch it, man, that&039;s the loosest slip on the Tennessee you&039;re going into there!" one of the card players guffawed
"Check for crabs, meat!" his partner said
"Don&039;t worry about crabs," Randy said "Or anything else I&039;ular He fucks "
The rooallon of perfume and tried to clean it up with pine cleanser It depressed Valentine that she entertained in her own living quarters, but since everything else in this hair trap was cheap and functional, the girls&039; business rooh to cli it on
"Mind turning off the light?"
She flicked a switch at her bedside A soft red night-light went on, tucked somewhere behind her slat headboard
"So, you want to listen to soe first, or-hey, careful with those screens, bugs&039;ll get in"
Valentine carefully set the screen next to the
"You ever do it on a rooftop?" Valentine asked
"What, are you kidding?"
He squeezed out her , felt for the edge of the roof, tested his grip He got a leg up, and briefly hung head down, looking in on her rooh for this!" she said